Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Support Group - Case Study - Frank Osborn

My cancer was diagnosed through a routine check up at my local N.H.S dentist.
He was concerned about a white spot on my tongue, which I was unaware of, and was causing me no discomfort.
I at first disregarded his concern and left any further follow up for a fortnight.
He then made an appointment for a biopsy to be performed, which I still believed to be unwarranted.
This proved to be positive and I will try to explain how it affected me.
For the first day I was completely devastated. I was enjoying relatively good health and the fact that I have never smoked and was only a social drinker I could not relate to this diagnosis.
Fortunately my appointment at Addenbrooke's was for the next day.
My meeting with Dr. Cheng was rather traumatic as he explained the proposed surgery and the possible chances of a full recovery.
I found it completely difficult to comprehend all that was taking place and even more difficult to accept. I found myself at times quite emotional.

I could not remember the last time I had cried, but when talking things over with my wife I found that I could not control my feelings. I have mentioned this as from a mans point of view it may allay other mens worries.
The wait for the operation was quite quick, and I did not request full knowledge of what this entailed. Dr.Cheng asked if I was interested in the procedures and from a personal point of view I did not.
I understand that a wedge of tongue was removed which constituted about a quarter.
As a further precaution I undertook a course of radio therapy which was very intensive.
I had a series of radio active probes inserted into the tongue which was done under general anaesrhetic.These remained in for seven days, in which time I was isolated in a room.
In all I was under teatment for about three months. I now attend Addenbrooke's Hospital every month for a general check up which I understand will change over a period of years if I continue to improve.

I would like to explain from a personal view point how I found life after the operation.
I was told that my tongue would regain most of its normal function regarding taste and feelings. This to date I have found to completely true. I eat and swallow quite normally now and the feeling is returning to most of the tongue.
Speech was a problem to begin with and I found that I was slurring certain words and I spoke quite slowly. The peculiar fact is, that to my own ears, it sounded worse than it actually was.This was proven when I spoke to people on the 'phone who weren't aware of my problem and did not hear a problem with my voice. When I apologised for my speech they were quite surprised.

At the time of writing it is eight months since my operation and I feel fit and healthy as I have done for years. I can manage to play golf twice a week, and can eat and drink quite well. Emotionally I am back to normal and I thank God that I had an early diagnosis and the superb back up of all concerned at Addenbrooke's.